Welcome to segment 2 of How to win Warhammer 40k. I could not post a tutorial on using Dante without posting about my other HQ choice, Brother Corbulo. Also, I want the reader to bear in mind that these tactic posts are designed with the standard missions in mind from the Warhammer 40k Rulebook. Of course, at tournaments, tactics and mission objectives will change. Hopefully, you will be able to adapt what I present to you here and use it to win games. You might not be able to win against some of the uber cheat armies, and people might consider my army a little cheezy as well. But the one major distinction is that my army follows the fluff and history of the Blood Angels. Every thing in my army is encouraged for use by Blood Angels lists. A fine example of a contrasting list. The Two Warboss/Nob Biker list. Absolutely not would two equal Strength Ork Warbosses team up. It defies the nature of chaos, orks and the universe. It is a simple accepted truth that the two war bosses would first fight each other to see who is stronger, and then one would be the warboss, the other would be a big freaking nob, or dead. Yet we see more and more of these armies on the table. Plus, we see players very sneakily diversifying each nobs gear in the squad, for the sole purpose of exploiting the Wound Allocation rule. Great job ork boys.
So, my point is that my tactics are designed to help you win against most non uber cheezed armies, playing the standard 5th edition missions. Having said that, I welcome any and all arguements to my posts. With one rule. Keep it clean of rude language, and back up your statements with fact. It is amazing how hard people find those two simple rules. If you think I am wrong with something I have said, that is fine. Explain why, and support your statement with page numbers and rules quotations. If you cannot do that, please do not post.
OOOKKKKKKK! Time for the Bro.
If you are taking Dante, you have to Take Corbulo. Lets talk about his gear first.
Chain sword. What the hell? One of the highest ranking Apothecaries in the Imperium canot afford a power sword? I would gladly pay 25 more points for this model to have a PW.
Sanguinator. Standard apothecary gear. This allows him to negate one wound per turn within 6" of him. The wound cannot have been caused by any attack that denies armor saves or instant death. Unlike new codex apothecaries, he does NOT grant a squad he has joined Feel No Pain.
Corbulo can lead the Death Company. A DC squad not within 6" of Corbulo or a Chaplain must move as far as it can towards the nearest enemy model during the movement phase.
The Holy Grail...
This thing has TWO effects. First of all, it grants Corbs a 4+ Invul. But most importantly, and the reason why this is AWESOME, it grants all Blood Angels within 12" Furious Charge. This does apply to Dante, all troops and my Furioso Dreadnought! Yes, that is right, my dreadnought charges at initiative 5, and Dante charges at initiative 6 with Str 5. For this reason alone, Corbs is mandatory.
How to use him:
Attach him to the DC, and buy them a rhino. I do NOT use jump packs for my DC. Doing so necessitates taking Lesmartes, and he is not worth it. Nope, I load them up in a Rhino with Extra Armor, all painted black and covered with skulls. People fear it. The reason why you put him in a rhino is not only to let him keep up with Dante, but because his powers work from inside it! (Please correct me if I am wrong, with facts, quotes and page numbers.) I am not interested in opinion on this one. So, Corbs can lead the DC, negate wounds, and grant FC from in his rhino.
Move the rhino up, it is perfect for blocking Line of Sight for Dante too. Charge it up to Dante's target and park/pop smoke. Keep the DC inside. Jump Dante up into assault range. Send him him! Make sure he is within 6" of the hull of the Rhino. If Dante takes a wound, negate it. Next turn, if you have taken a bite too big to chew, unload the DC, and charge them in!
If you are forced to disembark Corbulo, do NOT put him into assault. At the end of the movement phase, make sure he is 2" away from the DC, and preferably out of LoS from enemy guns. Send in the DC and watch the mayhem. If you absolutely MUST send him into assault, it is ok. I have used him to charge in and finish off squads when needed. But it is almost always better to keep him out of CC. Simply because he is able to heal, but NOT while in CC. If you used your heal on your opponents turn, and can not use one on your turn, and the squad you are fighting is close to death, charge him in to finish it off. you might also want to get him into CC just to allocate wounds on to him. Especially later in the game. He has an Invul, and only cost 100 points. He is a much more expendible model then Dante. If it is getting close to the end, and you need Dante to live, get Corbs in there and put the wounds on him.
When to use his heal:
Save it for Dante, Death Company, Himself, Power Weapon/Fist in that order. Do not use it on normal infantry unless it is the very last wound of the turn and all attacks have been dealt. It is always better to allow an infantry man to die and save it for a DC model or Dante then to use it on a grunt, then watch a DC go down from the next round of shots.
And there you have it! Corbulo is invaluable to your Blood Angels army. If you are playing a small force, he is the ONLY choice. At 100 points, he is the strongest, cheapest commander available. He should pretty much always be in your army. Get him in a Rhino, and keep him safe. Move the rhino up with your assault forces, and grant every one you can that bubble of Furious Charge. Unload him only if you have to. Assault with him even less. Sacrifice him to save Dante. Keep his rhino within 6" of your main assault forces for heals. He CAN heal guys locked in assault, so long as he is not locked in himself. You need him to control the DC, and if you are using a DC Furioso, that as well. Keep the Dread close to his Rhino until it no longer matters. You will know when that point arrives. Just about when your opponent starts squirming and whining. Enjoy!
JB
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